Academic Programs Catalog

College of Engineering

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Undergraduate Programs
Civil Engineering

The civil engineering major is designed to provide graduates with a broad understanding of the physical factors involved in the planning, design, and operation of public and private facilities. The bachelor’s degree program in civil engineering is oriented to the application of engineering principles to several areas of specialization, including transportation, structures, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, water resources, and pavements and materials.

The Bachelor of Science Degree program in Civil  Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering

  1. The University requirements for bachelor's degrees as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog; 128 credits, including general elective credits, are required for the Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

    The University's Tier II writing requirement for the Civil Engineering major is met by completing Civil Engineering 321 and 341. Those courses are referenced in item 3. a. below.

    Students who are enrolled in the College of Engineering may complete the alternative track to Integrative Studies in Biological and Physical Sciences that is described in item 1. under the heading Graduation Requirements for All Majors in the College statement.  Certain courses referenced in requirement 3. below may be used to satisfy the alternative track.
  2. The requirements of the College of Engineering for the Bachelor of Science degree.

    The credits earned in certain courses referenced in requirement 3. below may be counted toward College requirements as appropriate.
  3. The following requirements for the major:
    a. All of the following courses (42 credits):
    CE 221 Statics 3
    CE 273 Civil and Environmental Engineering Measurements 2
    CE 274 Graphics for Civil and Environmental Engineers 1
    CE 275 GIS for Civil and Environmental Engineers 1
    CE 305 Introduction to Structural Analysis 3
    CE 312 Soil Mechanics 4
    CE 321 Introduction to Fluid Mechanics 4
    CE 337 Civil Engineering Materials 4
    CE 341 Transportation Engineering 3
    CE 371 Sustainable Civil and Environmental Engineering Systems 3
    CE 372 Risk Analysis in Civil and Environmental Engineering 3
    CE 495 Senior Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering 4
    CEM 161 Chemistry Laboratory I 1
    ENE 280 Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science 3
    ME 222 Mechanics of Deformable Solids 3
    b. One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
    GLG 201 The Dynamic Earth 4
    GLG 301 Geology of the Great Lakes Region 3
    c. One of the following courses (3 credits):
    CE 461 Computational Methods in Civil Engineering 3
    ME 361 Dynamics 3
    d. One of the following courses:
    BE 351 Thermodynamics for Biological Engineering 3
    ECE 345 Electronic Instrumentation and Systems 3
    ME 201 Thermodynamics 3
    MSE 250 Materials Science and Engineering 3
    e. Design-intensive Electives. Complete 12 or 13 credits of electives from the list below in at least four different areas (environmental, geotechnical, pavements, structures, transportation, and water resources).
    Environmental
    ENE 483 Water and Wastewater Engineering 4
    ENE 489 Air Pollution: Science and Engineering 3
    Geotechnical
    CE 418 Geotechnical Engineering 3
    CE 485 Landfill Design 3
    Pavements
    CE 431 Design and Analysis for New and Rehabilitated Pavements 4
    Structures
    CE 405 Design of Steel Structures 3
    CE 406 Design of Concrete Structures 3
    Transportation
    CE 444 Principles of Traffic Engineering 3
    CE 449 Highway Design 3
    Water Resources
    ENE 421 Engineering Hydrology 3
    ENE 422 Applied Hydraulics 3
    f. Technical Electives. Complete 6 additional credits in courses not used to fulfill areas above or from the following:
    CE 400 Structural Mechanics 3
       CE  407 Materials Engineering: Properties, Selection and Processing 3
       CE  432 Pavement Rehabilitation 3
       CE  448 Transportation Planning 3
       CE  471 Construction Engineering – Equipment, Methods and Planning 3
    CE 473 Smart and Sustainable Building Design and Operations 3
    ENE 472 Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Technologies 3
    ENE 481 Environmental Chemistry: Equilibrium Concepts  3
       ENE 487 Microbiology for Environmental Science and Engineering 3